Head Coach Adrian Heath
On takeaways from the match against Orlando City SC…
“The first thing is the disappointment of the result, not the disappointment of the performance. I actually thought for the first 35-40 minutes might be the best we’ve played all season. I just felt that there was a little bit of resemblance of our normal self, playing through the lines, getting Sang Bin [Jeong] in little pockets. I thought Robin [Lod] looked as though he’s coming back to some sort of form, so there was positives, certainly, from the game.”
On the attacking front-four last Saturday…
“There was. Robin [Lod] holds himself to really high standards, and we had a chat last week, and he don’t feel as though he’s at the level he would like to be. Sang Bin [Jeong] gave us an hour. He was completely off his feet because he’s hardly played for a year. He’d been coming off the bench in Switzerland, so he’ll be better for having an hour. I thought it was good to see Bongi [Bongokuhle Hlongwane] getting in the right spots again. We keep encouraging to get him in that one-touch, finish zone in and around that six-yard box, and he was in there again. So, there were some positives from the game.”
On maintaining a positive mindset after back-to-back losses…
“I generally would talk about working off performances. You can win games very, very luckily. Invariably, if your performances are good and you’re doing what’s asked of the group, we’ll take that. They did it this weekend and that was disappointing to the players because they [Orlando City SC] had two efforts at goal and scored two goals. One that’s come off the cross bar, we’ve got five men there and it drops to their one man in the box. That was a disappointment, we know that, but no, we’ve had a decent start. We have to maintain, we’ve got a difficult road [match] coming up next. We go away to Seattle. And on the back of their result they just had in Portland, it won’t be any easier than it normally is, for sure.”
On the approach to the match versus Seattle Sounders FC…
“They’ve got a bit of everything. I think the surface helps them, they’re terrific on that surface. Their weight of pass of knowing when to play it firm, knowing when to play slow is always top-notch. Great atmosphere, and then another thing is they’ve got really good players. [Raul] Ruidiaz, [Nicolas] Lodeiro, [Albert] Rusnak, Jordan Morris, [Alex] Roldan. All internationals, they’ve all been DPs [Designated Players]. They’re a very, very good team. Really well coached and great atmosphere that they generate to play in. It’s not just difficult for Minnesota, trust me, it’s difficult for most teams when they go there.”
On Minnesota United’s first U.S. Open Cup game next Tuesday following the match on Saturday…
“No, we’ll go and try and put our best team out. The team that we expect to go and try and win the game, and then we’ll concentrate on Detroit [City FC] after that game.”
Midfielder Wil Trapp
On takeaways from the match against Orlando City SC…
“In general, the first half was strong. We finally put together a cohesive performance that looked pretty much what we want it to look like. We’ve got to take the positives from that and focus on creating moments where we can get into the attack, where we can win the ball back, and we can press the ball and move the ball forward.”
On staying motivated after two back-to-back losses…
“I don’t think motivation’s an issue. I think it’s understanding what’s working, and we saw what worked in the first half. We have to continue to push that. We scored a great goal. Ultimately, I think the second half, in terms of a little bit of change of shape, was something we were trying to adapt to. But taking this into the next game, we know it’s a good opponent in Seattle, and it’s something we can move on from.”
On containing the talent of Seattle Sounders FC…
“They can score in multiple ways. They’re great on the break. They’re comfortable defending. They’re comfortable keeping possession. It’s a team in which they have guys that are confident scoring goals at the moment. I think for us it’s being disciplined defensively, that’s been our strong suit to start the season, and we have to get back to that.”
On the key to getting a result in Seattle…
“Ultimately, it’s our mentality. The mentality to go there and understand it will be a game which we’re have to weather the storm, at times. And not being upset, or worried, or anxious about that and knowing that we have the quality and the capability to win and score goals. Trust our process, trust the group and understand that it’s going to be 95-minute game.”
